Battalion marches at San Juan Capistrano
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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — A group of 68 re-enactors commemorated on March 22 the March 20, 1847, arrival of the Mormon Battalion at the San Juan Capistrano Mission in what is now Southern California. Dressed in full period dress, the re-enactors marched with wagons, mules and an authentic 1838 cannon before an enthusiastic crowd of 35,000 in the 45th annual Swallows Day Parade in San Juan Capistrano.
The parade generally followed the same route the battalion took as noted in historic journals: "Took up a valley of very rich land for three miles when we came to St. John's Mission, a large stone building rent by earthquake some 30 years ago," recorded battalion member Henry Bigler on March 20, 1847. "I suffered much today my feet being very sore. The raw hide with which I had bound my feet around having become very hard by the sun."
The re-enactors consisted of both Church members and those of other faiths, many of whom traveled hundreds of miles to participate. Among these were Vern and Carol Condie of Beaver, Utah, who drove the same wagon in the parade that they had used to make the trek from Winter Quarters to Salt Lake City during the Mormon Trail re-enactment of 1997.
"It was an honor to march in memory of these valiant men and women," said Christopher Jones of the Newport Beach California Stake, a former resident of San Juan Capistrano who conceived the idea.
Fellow stake member Guy Dickson, who helped develop the project, said, "We felt we were part of the continuing fulfillment of Brigham Young's 1855 prophecy, that 'The Mormon Battalion [would] be held in honorable remembrance to the latest generation; and . . . the children of those who have been in the army, in defense of their country, will grow up and bless their fathers for what they did.' "
